Category: Gender

On the challenges to eradicate FGM as a broadly accepted practice in many African societies.

Waris Dirie. Book Cover: Desert Flower. 1998

On 28 November 2012, world news bulletins were headlined with the usual tragedies: the Palestinian case, Syria, the Egyptian crisis and the latest events in Iraq. A few newspapers even featured the M23 uprising in DR Congo – next to Lindsay Lohan’s self-destructive nightclub adventures. What barely received any coverage, however, is the remarkable approval of the first UN General Assembly draft resolution, which calls for an end to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) – a torturous procedure, which affects the lives of no less than roughly 150 million girls and women worldwide.

In short, FGM as described by Waris Dirie’s campaign and organisation ‘Desert Flower’ is: “(…) A destructive operation, during which the female genitals are partly or entirely removed or injured with the goals of inhibiting a woman’s sexual feelings. Most often the mutilation is performed before puberty, often on girls between the age of four and eight, but recently it is increasingly performed on nurslings who are only a couple of days, weeks or months old. (…) The procedure is usually performed without anesthetic and under catastrophic hygienic circumstances. Knives, scissors, razor blades or pieces of broken glass are used as instruments among others.”

Clitoridectomy is believed to date as far back as the 5th century BC in Egypt. It is not widely known that it was also a conventional practice in the 19th and early 20th century in Europe as a cure for “mental diseases”. A personage no less than Sigmund Freud contended: “The elimination of clitoral sexuality is a necessary precondition for the development of femininity.” The procedure was finally banned in Europe and North America between the early eighties and nineties. Today, FGM is primarily an African phenomenon. In 2012, it still affects around 90% of all females in Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan; and more or less, 50% of girls and women in Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria and Togo. In some instances, it also occurs in South-east Asia or among immigrant communities in Europe.

In an attempt to stem these shockingly high numbers, a vast number of anti-FGM awareness campaigns and training led by the international community and mainly Western civil society organisations emerged. According to the UN, “Over the past three years, some 8,000 communities across the world, including 15 African countries, have abandoned the practice. Last year alone, 2,000 communities declared that they will no longer allow the human rights violation to continue.” The new draft resolution – although not legally binding – is an additional and crucial step forward. Still, the torture is far from being fully eradicated as a cultural habit. The FGM Education and Networking Project finds that it remains a broadly and publicly accepted procedure in the African societies listed above and the number of girls mutilated does not appear to be reducing dramatically. There are various reasons why it is so complex to bring female circumcision to an end. Not only is FGM a tradition deeply embedded in the culture of several African countries, it also requires an enormous amount of time and continuous effort to burst through the various societal networks that practise and support it.

Here are some of the biggest challenges in the fight against FGM:

FGM as an initiation to womanhood

FGM is not simply an act of circumcision. In most cases, girls undergo a week-long training in the bush as an initiation to the role and responsibilities of socially-respected young women and future wives. Non-circumcised girls are often thought of being unclean and face tremendous challenges in finding a husband. In some societies, a failure to be initiated could be a one-way street to social margnialisation, if not even stigamtisation.

FGM as a broadly accepted institution

Interviews with about 50 local civil society organisations in Sierra Leone revealed that the majority perceived FGM as an important institution that needs to be maintained, albeit under better hygienic conditions. Around a third stated that the process of initiation should be preserved but without the cutting. In some instances, interviewees felt that FGM prevents young girls from teenage pregnancy and prostitution. Public opinion on FGM differs, of course, from country to country and depends largely on the percentage of girls habitually circumcised.

FGM as an “incentive” and the influence of secret societies

What makes the process of initiation very attractive for girls is that it is often accompanied with an endowment in the form of new clothes; jewelry and other accessories of which many young women are fond. It is no exception that families remain highly indebted until years after their daughter’s initiation. In addition, large payments have to be made to professional circumcisers, usually women who enjoy a high reputation or belong to highly respected secret societies. Probably, the most commonly known secret society is the Sande also known as Bundu or Bondo in the West African region. Their social status and influence does certainly play a crucial role as to why FGM remains an accepted practice and custom by the broader public.

Impunity despite torturing

Countries with no specific laws against FGM include: Cameroon, DR Congo, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Somalia. Although legally banned in Benin, Burkina Faso, CAR, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Niger, Senegal, Sudan and Uganda – there were (with a few exceptions only) hardly any convictions in any of these countries. Notably, FGM continues to be widely practiced in developed African countries such as Egypt where it is estimated that about 97% of all women are circumcised.[i]

Combating the practice of FGM requires male support

In an official statement on 28 November 2012, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stated: “We need men to change their mentality.” In patriarchal societies, male dominance has the potential to do both either impede or strengthen efforts in changing mindsets towards FGM. Acknowledging the importance to bring more men on board, the UN campaign UNITE to End Violence against Women has recently introduced a Network of Men Leaders to address violence against women. At the local level, men also have the power to influence women’s networks performing and financially benefiting from FGM. Hence, stopping circumcision as a practice will only be successful up to a certain point if it remains an issue largely tackled and discussed by women only – at regional and international levels. Male support is essential to eradicate centuries-long mindsets of perceiving FGM as a cultural tradition, which is no less than gruesome torture.

While rhetoric on enhancing women’s rights and participation in fragile states is pervasive, de-facto implementation remains slow.

Pray the Devil back to Hell. Movie Poster 2008

In 2011, the American Journal of Public Health estimated that 48 women are raped every hour in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Some experts have even suggested that the figure is much higher considering the number of unreported cases. Sadly, rape as a weapon of war is not exceptional in the Congo; rather it is pervasive in many fragile states. According to the Journal of Peace Research, roughly 75 per cent of all Liberian women were raped during the civil war. In the case of Bosnia, experts believe that between 20,000 to 50,000 were affected. In view of these shockingly high numbers, women are often portrayed as helpless and despairing victims. Strikingly, this often overlooks an important point.

Far more than victims

In politically suppressed and patriarchal societies, women risk speaking up and advocating their rights. In West Africa, for example, women cultivate peace, foster social cohesion and help rebuild war-torn societies. The war in Liberia serves as a case in point, when thousands of female protesters sang relentlessly until peace was finally negotiated. Other non-violent weapons included the threat to put a curse on the warring parties and a sex strike. Three years later, in 2006, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became president of the country and the first female elected head of state in Africa.

Likewise, in neighbouring Sierra Leone, the peacebuilding process has been shaped by various civilian initiatives brought to life and led by women: the Fifty/Fifty Group or the Women’s Partnership for Justice and Peace are just a couple of examples. Their target is for women to take up 30 per cent of the seats in Parliament after the elections in November this year. Furthermore, the ambition is to raise this number to 50 per cent in five years’ time.

Regionally, organisations such as the West African NGO network, WIPNET (Women in Peacebuilding Programme) provide training and strengthen the capacities of local movements. Since 2004, about 400 women’s organisations have benefited from their work.

Globally, women campaign for equal and full participation in efforts to create and maintain international peace and security. For instance, the NGOWG (NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security), located next to the United Nations Secretariat in New York City, is comprised of 17 international non-governmental organisations. Their focus is on conflict-affected countries on the Security Council’s agenda. In each country, local groups identify women’s needs and concerns on the ground, which are then formulated into a common agenda at headquarter level.

Despite all these positive achievements and initiatives from diverse civilian spheres at the political and juridical levels, women are still often excluded from negotiations and crucial events. According to a UN report, in 24 major peace processes between 1992 and 2010, only 2.5 per cent of the signatories, 3.2 per cent of the mediators, 5.5 per cent of witnesses and 7.6 per cent of negotiators were women. Likewise, the OECD reports that only 20 per cent of aid allocated for peace and security in fragile states integrates a gender equality dimension. Yet, DFID’s operational plan (2011-2015) of the Policy Division for Governance and Fragile States holds that the “discrimination and lack of opportunities faced by girls and women requires a specific focus.”

These facts are even more disappointing considering the numerous instruments created in past decades by the international community to advance women’s rights in fragile states. In 1979, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) followed by the Declaration on the Participation of Women in Promoting International Peace and Cooperation in 1981. Four world conferences on women were organised—in Mexico City (1975), Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985), and Beijing (1995). The latter led to the introduction of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and successive Security Council resolutions, starting with resolution 1325 in 2000 for women’s participation in all aspects of peacekeeping, peacemaking and peacebuilding. Resolution 1325 subsequently led to four more between 2008-2010*. There have also been several reports from the Secretary General, workshops and high-level stakeholder meetings on women, peace and security.

While rhetoric on enhancing women’s rights and participation in fragile states is pervasive, de-facto implementation remains slow.

Challenges

Sarah Taylor, Executive Coordinator of the NGOWG highlighted the difficulty of obtaining funds for the schemes of women’s rights activists as one of the reasons why action on women’s rights is so sluggish. More financial and political resources are needed for early warning systems to monitor and report rights violations. Even if funds are made available, more long-term commitment is required, as things simply do not change overnight. In addition, many women’s rights activists work in remote and dangerous areas. Funding their activities involves certain risks, which many donors are not willing to take.

Likewise, many fragile states experience serious shortcomings in laws and practices to protect women’s rights. Weak local justice systems and impunity for perpetuators are common in post-conflict societies.

Advancing women’s rights is therefore not a movement lacking ideas, initiative or instruments; women are able to take matters into their own hands. Nevertheless, they still often remain excluded from important peacebuilding processes.